


Long Days, Longer Nights

by HobblyWobbly



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Reader-Insert, just some stuff from tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-01-05
Packaged: 2019-02-28 16:24:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13275330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HobblyWobbly/pseuds/HobblyWobbly
Summary: “Save the world if you want, but know the world doesn’t get to keep you,” his words alone made all your earlier exhaustion be whisked away as his arms securely around your waist made you forget where you two were. Too wrapped up in your own conflicting emotions, you briefly wondered if Cayde could actually read your mind. The Hunter took in a long intake of breath and you waited for his next words, taking the time to relish in the warmth of the hug. “You’re mine.”





	Long Days, Longer Nights

For a Guardian sleep was never a choice; it was always a pleasantry. On average most Guardians (new or old) got about five hours and that was on a good night. For you, an average night’s sleep was three hours without taking into account sudden wake up calls for missions or brief naps in between destinations. Sleep, however, became harder to grasp after the Red Legion’s attack and most nights you laid watching shadows dance across the walls with a ghostly pain in your ribs where they had been broken and pierced.

Ghost never seemed bothered by all the moving and lack of sleep, lying there on the pillow beside you with his shell pieces resting on the cushion. Deciding that rolling around wouldn’t help you, you sat up with a hand pressing against your forehead in an attempt of stopping the sudden dizziness. You began staring at your hand, one finger curling into your palm after another. Despite having regained your Light there was this constant hole in your chest where warmth had been ever since your first revival down in Russia when an overly emotional Ghost found you.

With each movement, another surge of haunting pain came running back in waves that only got worse the faster you moved. Grabbing a stray jacket off the floor and tugging some simple boots without bothering to lace them up, you left the temporary apartment without bothering to wake up Ghost. He already had his own demons to fight against. You didn’t really know where you were walking to so you walked without a destination in mind, head lowered with your eyes watching the dirt road slowly pass underneath your feet.

A few other Guardians were found sitting around on the Farm as well, each alone modifying a gun or hidden away in corners mourning over a dead ghost being cradled in their hands. Whenever one of them saw you walking past you two would just make brief eye contact and you’d find yourself momentarily lost in those eyes of a person who had watched friends die to never wake up again. Everyone had heard about the loss a Guardian who never came back (especially during the Festival of the Lost) but no one actually felt the pain themselves until now.

Standing where Hawthorne usually is in the mornings overlooking the busy Farm, you let the night wind brush back the ends your jacket while your eyes lazily scanned over the field without knowing what you were looking for until you saw it. Down by where all the ships were docked was Cayde-6, jumping out from his ship and slipping into the shadows in hopes of not being caught. Just when he had begun the descent down the hill he caught you watching and his optics brightened up making your heart pull summersaults.

“Hey, Guardian. Long night?” Cayde only spoke when he was hauling himself up over the railing, one leg on either side with his hands balancing himself. You lightly shrugged your shoulders with both arms across your chest. “Look, you’re not gonna tell Zavala, right? You wouldn’t betray me like that.” He was asking a question you both knew the answer to, but that didn’t stop him.

“Never saw you.” You mumbled and made a gesture with your hand as if sealing your lips and throwing the key away. The way his faceplates shifted upwards in a smile was a sight you could never get tired of seeing.

“Knew I could count on you,” he swung his leg over so he was now standing on the balcony with you. Both his arms were being stretched over his head, body tilting left then right and you got worried when some of his joints actually popped. Then again it’s Cayde and you decided that worrying about his joints weren’t going to help your growing insomnia. “So… What are you doing up here? Don’t tell me Hawthorne put you on guard duty. And if she did you sure as hell aren’t doing a great job if I snuck out.”

“What if I let you go?” You suggested with the hint of a smile but it got waved off by Cayde who kept on insisting that ‘you’d never hear him coming.’ “Couldn’t sleep,” fiddling with the sleeve of your jacket, you directed your eyes down towards the floorboards. “Thought the fresh air might do me well. Isn’t really helping.” A forced chuckle made its way out of your lips at the realization that you were confiding in Cayde of all people. Sure you had a Traveler sized crush on the exo and probably would allow Shaxx to headbutt you into the void if it meant getting a date, but not once did you imagine yourself venting to him.

“Yeah, it’s been taking a toll on everyone,” your head shot up when Cayde replied with a serious reply, watching the Hunter lean against the railing and stare off into the distance. “It’s funny. I kept wanting to leave the Tower and now that I finally got to leave the Tower all I wanna do is go back,” he was thinking out loud, but those words alone were probably the most relatable thing you’d heard in the last two weeks. You knew that even if the Tower and the Last City was reclaimed nothing would be same; there would always be those constant reminders of what used to be whether that be of fallen comrades or destroyed buildings that got hit in the attack. “Did Big Blue fill you in about the ambush?”

“The basics,” you had been briefed that morning by Zavala about how you were to infiltrate a Red Legion base, steal a ship, and use that to break into the Last City. “You still planning on shooting Ghaul?”

“Right in the face,” Cayde’s faceplates lifted back up into a smile making a smile reflect back on your own face. “And what better to celebrate than with a sandwich? There was this great place in the City- if it didn’t get blown up. Maybe there are some ingredients still scattered about…” You started tuning him out when Cayde began rambling on about the different food stores that had been blown up. You were too busy rubbing your eyes while fighting back the constant urge to yawn. “Hey, don’t fall asleep on me now. I don’t wanna explain to everyone why the big hero is passed out on the floor.”

“Sorry,” the apology felt rehearsed and robotic- a word that had run through your mind numerous times throughout your missions yet never spoken. You were the silent guardian who obeyed every order despite how out of place they were; a weapon that could be replaced at any time. “I should probably go get ready. For the ambush.”

Keeping your head lowered in order to not meet his gaze, you turned away ready to leave only to stop when a hand grabbed your wrist. You didn’t even bother moving away when you were spun around, arms wrapped around your waist so you could be tugged against his chest, and a chin resting on top of your head.

“Save the world if you want, but know the world doesn’t get to keep you,” his words alone made all your earlier exhaustion be whisked away as his arms securely around your waist made you forget where you two were. Too wrapped up in your own conflicting emotions, you briefly wondered if Cayde could actually read your mind. The Hunter took in a long intake of breath and you waited for his next words, taking the time to relish in the warmth of the hug. “You’re mine.”

“Is that a confession?” You had meant the question to come off as a tease- something that could mask your inner worries, yet you knew it didn’t come off that way. Pulling your head back just a couples inches so you could see his face, Cayde didn’t say anything immediately which made you wonder if you went just a bit too far as his optics flicked over your face as if searching for something.

Before you could utter another word he had leaned in, faceplates pressing up against your parted lips in a kiss. For a second you just stood there in tired shock wrapped up in his arms, brain processing that you were being kissed, and then you found yourself kissing back with your own arms wrapping around his neck. A couple of chuckles left you when his horn bumped against your forehead and he had to crouch down a tad so he wasn’t towering over you.

“Yeah,” his voice modulator had lowered down to something just above a whisper. “I guess you could call it that,” pushing all negative thoughts into the back of your mind, you began kissing him again with a giggle slipping past at just the absurdity of the situation. “And be alert out there, yeah? Don’t need to hear about you dying on me.”

“Promise.” And you really did plan on keeping that promise. When you left the balcony towards you temporary apartment again in hopes of catching some short sleep, you couldn’t help noticing that the void in your chest that had been haunting you ever since the attack seemed to be gone.


End file.
